I would want to check for sand, depending on locale, enteroliths, and I would absolutely insist on blood work, particularly chemistry.
I would also make sure a fecal was run.
[QUOTE=JBD;8200353]
What is his worming schedule like? With the vets input, you may want to consider putting him on a daily wormer. I had a frequent colic-er and tried a lot of things. However she was like that from a very young age unlike your horse.
What seems to have put her on the right track was extruded feed, probiotics, daily wormer and paste worming for tapeworms. She was always on coastal and daily wormer. Treating for tapeworms seemed to help. And probiotics definitely helped.
She was fairly predictable as in if she didn’t drink most of a bucket after meals, we’d most likely have a problem. Knock on wood she hasn’t had problems for a while.
It does sound like your horse might have ulcers. I don’t see where you mention how much water he’s drinking. That’s the first thing I check in these kind of situations.
Edited to add: you did post how much he drinks. And it could very well be what’s pushing him over the edge along with the other changes. Try warm water, flavored water, adding water to his hay cubes, anything to get the water consumption up.[/QUOTE]
I have tried flavoured water, warm water etc. even bought horse quencher. Nothing made a difference. He could of always drank this amount this amount of water. I’m not sure as there was automatic waters at the previous barn. He was always on the dehydrated side there too.
[QUOTE=merrygoround;8200363]
I would want to check for sand, depending on locale, enteroliths, and I would absolutely insist on blood work, particularly chemistry.
I would also make sure a fecal was run.[/QUOTE]
I am going to ask for bloodwork when we get referred to the hospatial. I had a fecal done near the end of March and it came back with no eggs observed.
If he is not drinking well, consider the RV hoses for drinking water. Some of the hoses taste like old tires & animals just don’t like it…, the water could also be different… With wells, some have filters, other not,. If the depth is low, there could be a lot of iron in the water, you would see orange iron deposits /stains on concrete type surfaces… If he is buddy sor…, that is Stress…and I know that crazy silly stuff they do when they can see their mate.
[QUOTE=JBD;8200353]
What is his worming schedule like? With the vets input, you may want to consider putting him on a daily wormer. I had a frequent colic-er and tried a lot of things. However she was like that from a very young age unlike your horse.
What seems to have put her on the right track was extruded feed, probiotics, daily wormer and paste worming for tapeworms. She was always on coastal and daily wormer. Treating for tapeworms seemed to help. And probiotics definitely helped.
She was fairly predictable as in if she didn’t drink most of a bucket after meals, we’d most likely have a problem. Knock on wood she hasn’t had problems for a while.
It does sound like your horse might have ulcers. I don’t see where you mention how much water he’s drinking. That’s the first thing I check in these kind of situations.
Edited to add: you did post how much he drinks. And it could very well be what’s pushing him over the edge along with the other changes. Try warm water, flavored water, adding water to his hay cubes, anything to get the water consumption up.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=merrygoround;8200363]
I would want to check for sand, depending on locale, enteroliths, and I would absolutely insist on blood work, particularly chemistry.
I would also make sure a fecal was run.[/QUOTE]
This!
An older mare at a place I boarded had been on and off colicky for months and when the point came for surgery the vets waited too long because an Enterloith had already perforated the intestine. It was suspected that her diet of alfalfa and possibly the hard water here in AZ were contributing factors.
Update: another colic
Got a call this morning that my horse is colicking again today. Already called the vet and she treated with banamine and buscapan again. Same kind of colic as last time, spasmadic.
I’m thinking enterolith on this guy… he feels good, then not. Then better… like a stone is moving.
Just wanted to share that my older gelding had no problems with colic and then had relatively frequent colics for several years (new barn). We attributed it to age after treating for everything under the sun. Moved barns and colic episodes disappeared. Put two and two together that apparently he has a problem with eating soaked beet pulp, as he only coliced like that at the one barn where the beet pulp was fed daily. Strange, as many feeds are beet-pulp based, but apparently soaking beet pulp causes a fermentation process to start, and apparently some horses are not able to cope with that.
Also, I’d be concerned about ulcers, as the only proven treatment/cure for ulcers is 28+ days of gastroguard, which you haven’t done. Stress, barn move, being herd bound, backing off feed, weight loss - all classic ulcer signs. If you don’t have a prescription for gastroguard and your horse weighs less than 1250, you may be able to get away with 28 days of ulcergard. (Same product, just packaged differently. Gastroguard tube is basically a 1250-lb dose and ulcergard tube is basically 4 x 250 lb dose.)
Just an update that this horse will be going to equine hospatial on Monday for a scope and ultrasound. Hopefully we can get some answers.
[QUOTE=Field of Dreams Mini Horses;8202372]
I’m thinking enterolith on this guy… he feels good, then not. Then better… like a stone is moving.[/QUOTE]
I know someone who had a horse that frequently colicked. She’d be fine, then colic, fine, then colic. Finally, she was found dead one morning. There was an autopsy done for insurance and they found a huge enterolith.
[QUOTE=Kelly in NJ;8202409]
Also, I’d be concerned about ulcers, as the only proven treatment/cure for ulcers is 28+ days of gastroguard, which you haven’t done. Stress, barn move, being herd bound, backing off feed, weight loss - all classic ulcer signs. If you don’t have a prescription for gastroguard and your horse weighs less than 1250, you may be able to get away with 28 days of ulcergard. (Same product, just packaged differently. Gastroguard tube is basically a 1250-lb dose and ulcergard tube is basically 4 x 250 lb dose.)[/QUOTE]I think it’s the same total amount in either tube. UG dosage is 1 mg/kg/day or 1/4 tube. GG is 4 mg/kg/day or a full tube.
http://www.ulcergard.com/Pages/default.aspx
I had a horse colic twice in February and once in March. I treated with a full tube of gastrogard for 30 days, with a half a tube of gastrogard for 30 days and with a 1/4 tube of gastrogard for 28 days. He had colic 4 weeks into that treatment and I had really kicked myself for not having scoped in the first place. He has been off of gastrogard for 1 month now and seems very well so far. If I were you I would stop all the meds and get him scoped for ulcers. It also never hurts to do a stool sample and blood work and even a trace mineral blood analysis. Best luck!
I have discovered that the past 2 spasmadic colics have occurred the day or second day after the BO rode her horse. So my guy would have been alone in the barn for however long she rode for. They are very herdbound and he calls the whole time. Could this be cause or just a coincidence? If it is the cause I don’t know how to handle that.
IF that is the cause (I would still run diagnostics to rule out medical conditions before settling on this), you could try getting him a buddy. Some horses do well with a goat. You could move him again to a farm with more horses. You could ask the BO if there was an opportunity to find another boarder. You could also try hanging a mirror (where he can see it but not reach it), I have heard that some horses see themselves in the mirror and think there is another horse around.
Update: 5th colic
Update:5th colic
Just got a call that my horse is colicking again. I asked the BO if she rode last night and she didn’t. They are just treating with oral banamine and will get the vet involved later if needed. I cannot go over as I am at work today 
So sorry you are dealing with this. I have a similar situation with an older horse. Usually was gas + impaction.
What has eventually worked has been changing his management completely. That meant feeding very soupy Senior, in small but frequent feedings, giving very little hay (the Senior is a complete feed with forage) and soaking the token amounts of hay in a manure bucket in the stall. The horse drinks from the hay-water and loves it. He would not touch buckets, flavored or not, nor the automatic waterer.
He has access to mineral blocks and particularly likes his Himalayan salt. He will drain his muck bucket of hay water overnight, so hydration is good.
In addition, I treated for ulcers, without scoping, because of the added expense, and I would give a two week trial of Ulcergard anyway. No real difference after two weeks.
Vet recommended Arenus Assure, which has probiotics specifically for hind gut health, as well as a proprietary type of psyllium. Also, he is now on MagRestore, a magnesium supplement, which helps with many things, including gut motility and acting a bit like a laxative. He’s on SmartCombo Ultra and SmartLytes in his SmartPaks. (I am in a very dry climate, and vets here recommend that horses living here should be on electrolytes year round, not just in the warm months.)
After his most recent episode, we have added mineral oil to his feedings. He gets four or even five feedings a day, but still very little hay. He just was not chewing it well, in spite of good dental care, and that was what the vets felt was causing the impaction part.
YMMV, I sincerely hope you can find some answers. We have had a very good result after changing to the Senior soup. The horse is fairly laid back, he’s older, BTDT type. He is also very clear when he does not feel well, so we get a vet out right away to diagnose, treat, and try to prevent escalation, when he shows signs of discomfort.
Good luck, and jingles for easy resolution of this episode, and getting some answers in a couple of days!
[QUOTE=BilyandJack;8206502]
I have discovered that the past 2 spasmadic colics have occurred the day or second day after the BO rode her horse. So my guy would have been alone in the barn for however long she rode for. They are very herdbound and he calls the whole time. Could this be cause or just a coincidence? If it is the cause I don’t know how to handle that.[/QUOTE]
I am not sure but aren’t most displacements caused by gas???
I have a horse that over four months ago had colic surgery from a left dorsal displacement caused by gas. It was “after” a 28 day treatment of Ulcerguard. I had owned him for three years with no colic issues before.
After discussions with the vets we are pretty much assuming it may have been caused by the Ulcerguard - it does treat the ulcers but it also changes the PH in the hind gut.
So we put him on Forco - it looks like you give your horse Equisure which is for hindgut health.
For my horse I also added Neigh Lox…
His diet after the surgery the vets and I came up with…
Timothy hay
(I would do a few pounds of alfalfa too but he’s already too heavy)
Soaked Timothy pellets with -
Forco
Neigh Lox
6,000 IU’s of Elevate Vit E
Electrolites
with Flax oil
I later removed the Neigh Lox because I read it’s like Tums and can be bad for horses. Of course it wasn’t a solid source.
Then he coliced again a few weeks ago - a gas colic feed impaction.
I talked to the vets about the Neigh Lox long term and they said it will not hurt him… sooo he is now on it every day. So far so good (touches wood)
He is a herd bound horse and reason I quoted the above from you because I do believe this causes stomach upset for sure.
I sure hope you figure out what’s going on with your horse.
If he is on lots of shavings now as opposed to the last place, has anyone seen him eating them?
- Bedding source?
- bloodwork
- WATER
- Perhaps go back to the old barn…
